Bucs Bumble Early, Rumble Late, To Stun Padres 11-10 & Sweep Series

Not a great start for Steven Brault; a leadoff walk and one-out double to Manny Machado left him in a jam. He then coaxed a popup to short that was a step or two in the OF grass; K-Man grabbed it, reacted a bit leisurely, and Fernando Tatis tagged from third. The throw beat him, but Eli was positioned off the plate and Tatis got under the tag; lack of infield defense does the Bucs in again. Even the umps had to review everything to straighten out the results. A steal and another walk left Friars on the corners, where they stayed. Joey Lucchesi started off with a clean frame. The Padres knocked on the door again in the second, with an infield single and double setting them up with an out, but Steven survived that challenge, too, getting the pitcher and leadoff guy. The Pirates went in order; they've K'ed three times already, although the out in play was a blast to The Notch by Melky that fell just short. SD managed a two-out rap and stolen base in the third. Joey O opened with a two-bagger; he made it close by not sliding, but withstood a review. A fly moved him to third, and Steven helped himself by singling him home. K-Man's rap sent Brault to third, and he came across for the lead on a sac fly. Starling tried to chase Newman home, but his liner was right at Tatis to end the frame.

K-Man did the dirty work today - photo MLB Pipeline

A single, forceout and wild pitch put another Padre is scoring position in the fourth, and this one was cashed in on an Austin Hedges double. A two-out rap by Tatis put SD ahead. J-Bell banged out a two-bagger to start it up, and two outs later, Joey O came through again with a knock to tally Josh. Steven surrendered another free pass in the fifth, but no damage resulted. Jason Martin hit for Brault and dropped a single in left, better placed than hit. Bryan got bopped with one away, and a wild pitch moved J-Mart to third. Starling's fly put Pittsburgh up again. Clay Holmes answered the sixth inning bell. He K'ed the first two, but Hedges reached first on the ol' whiff/wild pitch. A roller moved him up, and a two-out, full count single by Tatis tied the score. Starling's throw needlessly went home, allowing Tatis to get to second, and Ric Rod was waved on. He gave up a knock, and the Bucs were back behind the eight ball. Cal Quantrill, making his first MLB outing, tossed a calm frame for SD. RR served up a clean seventh. Corey D pinch hit a single with one gone, and an out later, was singled to third on a hit and run, where he died.

Geoff Hartlieb worked the eighth. Struck out a pair, then walked a trio on 15 pitches and gave up a two-run bloop to Machado to make the score 7-4. The last out came on a delayed steal of home effort; the Bucs played that right, something they'd been hard-pressed to do in the first few innings. Luis Perdomo gave up a two-out double to Redbeard and left him standing. Chris Stratton took the ball in the ninth and gave up a leadoff double but had smooth sailing through the rest of the frame. Kirby Yates came in to tuck it away. Eli reached on a boot and Fraze doubled him to third. K-Man dribbled an infield knock, plating a run and leaving Bucs on the corners. Bryan Reynolds' single made it 7-6. Starling bunted them up - yah, debatable move - and it took the bat out of J-Bell's hands too as he was walked. Melky's infield tapper tied it and left runners at second and third, but Redbeard's fly ended the fun and took the fans into some bonus baseball. Felipe Vazquez punched out a pair in a quiet 10th. Phil Maton took the hill and Fraze lined a two-out rap off him for all the Bucco action.

Joey O had three raps- photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Frankie Liriano joined the gang in the 11th, and a walk and Machado double dropped him in immediate hot water. An intentional walk juiced the bases. Frankie got the next two outs while freezing the runners before a nicely executed push bunt to first (J-Bell fielded the ball, but with Frankie falling off the mound toward third and Fraze shaded toward the middle, no one had first base) was legged out by Manuel Margot, giving SD the lead. A two-out single that dropped into right made it 10-7. Reynolds walked against Maton to start, then Starling was then rung up on a full count pitch that was ball four, not strike three. J-Bell singled and Melky doubled in a run. Matt Wisler got the call, and Jake came off the bench - he was the last man sitting - to single and knot the score. The Pirates challenged that the ball went out of play on the throw home in an effort to move Jake up 90' but were shot down. Joey O singled to left to get Stallings to second, then Eli walked after falling behind 0-2 to jam the basepaths. Fraze popped out on the first pitch after the walk *sigh* but K-Man kept the faith; he fell behind 0-2, kept his eye peeled and walked to win the game. Raise the Roger.

They make mental mistakes and they walk way too many hitters, but they do play to the final out. Nice win under their belts to head to Houston with, even though that series should be a bit more challenging than tackling the Friars and Tigers. Should be a big TV draw for the Tuesday opener when Gerrit Cole takes the hill against his old mateys.

Jake, the last man off the bench, came up big - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Notes:

• Joey O had three hits; J-Bell, K-Man, Bryan Reynolds and Fraze each had a pair as the Bucs collected 17 raps.
• Kevin Newman drew the Pirates' first "shrimp" (walk-off walk) since Russell Martin coaxed one off Reds' Tony Cingrani in the 12th inning on June 9th, 2014. (S/O to The Athletics Rob Biertempfel)
• Pirates pinch hitters were 4-for-5 today.
• Yates had been perfect in saves this year before today, going 26-for-26. Some bad ball luck eventually bites the best of 'em.
• BTW, Manny Machado isn't just feasting on Pirates pitching - in the prior 10 games, he's hitting .465 w/6 HR & 10 total extra-base knocks. He had three more hits today, with two doubles.
• The announced crowd at the park today was 25,294.
• Jordan Lyles went 5-1/3 IP, allowing one earned run on two hits and three walks w/seven whiffs after 84 pitches, for his Indy rehab start today.
• Cervy told the media gang that he hopes to be cleared for action this week and begin a rehab assignment; he's hoping to rejoin the club at Milwaukee next weekend. Sounds like he's pushin' it, but we'll see how it plays out...